Humanism a Religion...

[COMMENT: I picked this up somewhere...
David Noebel leads Summit Ministries in Colorado, which specializes in
"worldview" conferences. Does a good job.

One needs to define 'religion'
correctly to see clearly that humanism is indeed a religion. E. Fox]

In their
2003 New York Times best-seller, Mind Siege, Dr. David Noebel and Dr. Tim
LaHaye explain, “The truth is, humanism is unmistakably and demonstrably a
religion. One need merely visit the second edition of A World Religions
Reader to note the prominence given to Secular Humanism as one of the
world’s religions. Indeed, in a list of the world’s religions—Hinduism,
Buddhism, Shintoism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Sikhism—Secular Humanism
is at the top.”

Some
argue that humanism, unlike Christianity, does not force a specific set of
religious positions and beliefs on people, but Dr. Noebel points out, “Humanists
preach a faith every bit as dogmatic as Christianity. Moral relativism is
foundational for Secular Humanist ethics; spontaneous generation and evolution
are basis to their biology; naturalism is foundational to their philosophy; and
atheism is their theological perspective.”

No less a
source than the U.S. Supreme Court also validates the claim that humanism is a
religion. Again, Noebel explains:

In 1961, the
Supreme Court handed down the Torcaso v. Watkins decision
regarding a Maryland notary public who was initially disqualified from
office because he would not declare a belief in God. But the Court ruled
in his favor. It argued that theistic religions [religions that believe
in one God] could not be favored by the Court over non-theistic
religions. In a footnote it clarified what it meant by non-theistic
religions.

The
footnote to which Dr. Noebel refers was written by Justice Hugo L. Black and
elaborates the point: “Among religions in this country which do not teach
what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God are
Buddhism, Taoism, Ethical Culture, Secular Humanism, and others.”